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- [00:06]
A
Hey, you're listening to A Year in the Bible with Daily Grace. This is Shelby and Paul, and today we are in the Book of Isaiah, chapters 58 through 60, pretty close to wrapping up the book of Isaiah as a whole. Yeah. And we've reached the more hopeful portion of the book, and so that's been really a joy to walk through. But what's happening in today's chapters, Paul?
- [00:28]
B
Today we're getting actually a little bit of judgment. So we open with this passage in 58 on fasting and verse 1, God calls Isaiah to declare their rebellion, the people's rebellion to them. So what is their rebellion? Well, in verse 2, it says, for day after day they seek me out, Me being God. They seem eager to know my ways, as if they were a nation that does not does what is right and has not forsaken the commands of its God. They ask me for just decisions and seem eager for God to come near them. That doesn't sound like rebellion to me, which is kind of interesting. But if we keep reading, it says in verse three that the people declare to God, why have we fasted? And have you not seen it? Why have we humbled ourselves? And you have not noticed? And so the issue actually here is that they believe that their righteousness and their fasting as a display of that righteousness puts God in their debt. That because they have fasted, God is now obligated somehow to notice them and basically do what they want. And the most scathing part about all of this is that while they're fasting, the marginalized people in their society are going without their basic needs, without food, without shelter, without clothing. And so these people basically just have the appearance of righteousness. Notice what it said back in verse two, it says, it is as if they were a nation that did what is right. So even though they look like they're seeking after God on the outside, they're really being prideful on the inside. And so I think the application for that is clear to us that are we in any way believing that we can put God in our debt? I know for me, there's certainly times that I think, oh, well, I've prayed about this issue, so surely it'll be a yes. Surely it'll go how I want. And I would even say for my career, I think if I can work hard enough, if I can follow God's will for my life, then everything will work out. But, you know, God will work things out for our good. Scripture tells us that in Romans 8, but not because we're Righteous, not because we did the right thing. And then God is obligated to give us that good outcome. It's rather because he's good and he's faithful and he loves us. And it comes from his character, not our righteousness. And so this whole passage is just a reminder that to look at our heart and ask ourselves, are we meaning the things that we do for God? Are we somehow believing we deserve something from God because of our righteousness?
- [03:02]
A
Yeah, thank you for breaking that down. I think that that application. There's not one of us who can't listen to that and then have some reflection, because it is so easy to say or do things that are performative, that don't have our heart truly in them. Okay, I'm gonna give my takeaway in just a. We're coming up on the last several chapters of the book here, Paul. And so is there anything you want us to keep in mind as we kind of wrap up today's reading and move into our last couple days of reading?
- [03:34]
B
So chapter 60, you bring it up as a transition here, that it's speaking of a time in the far future when Jesus has come, that the light has arrived, and it's this image of him gathering the nations to him for salvation. So the New Testament, in Hebrews 12:22, it says, To Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, the nations gather. And so this isn't referring to, like, a physical geographical location, like Israel in the Middle East. It's referring to the spiritual Jerusalem, the spiritual place of God's dwelling that Christ draws us to when he brings history to its final conclusion. So a lot of the rest of this portion of Isaiah is what theologians would say is eschatological meaning. It's referring to the end of time. And so just mentally note that for yourself as we continue to read the last few days.
- [04:24]
A
Yeah, that's a great thing for us to know as we go into these last several chapters. I think my takeaway from our. From our reading today is, and really we have seen this since we started in the Book of Genesis, how important it is that God wants not only our outward actions, but our heart as well. And so here we're seeing the importance of actually taking time to examine and saying, like, you know, maybe I'm doing X, Y, and Z, but what is my actual motivation for doing that? Is it because I believe that I will earn or indebt God, you know, in some type of way? Is it because I believe that if I give Him X, he will give me Y Or is it truly just like love and devotion to him and belief that it is best when I follow his ways and that he will be faithful because that is who he is in his nature. So it's a challenging question. We've asked it a lot as we've walked through the Bible, and it's something I still need to consider daytime.
- [05:25]
B
Me too. For sure.
- [05:26]
A
So I appreciate you bringing that up today. Thanks, Paul. We'll continue in Isaiah tomorrow.